A State of Future Existing

Chapter 11

Hyunjin blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the fog from his brain. The orange light in the corner of his vision disappeared - he still had no idea what had caused it.

Maybe the earlier shock to his system had messed with his programming.

The doctor brushed past him and gestured at the holographic image that jutted from the netscreen. "You no doubt recognize this," he said, sliding his finger along the screen so that the body spun in a last circle. "Let me tell you what is peculiar about it."

Hyunjin tugged his glove up, pulling the hem over the scar tissue. He scooted toward him. His foot bumped the wrench, sending it beneath the exam table. "I'd say about 36.28% of it is pretty peculiar." When Dr. Hyun-woo did not face him, he bent and picked up the wrench. It seemed heavier the before. In fact, everything felt heavy. His leg, his hand, his head.

The doctor pointed to the holograph's right elbow. "This is where we injected the letumosis-carrying microbes. They were tagged so that we could monitor their progress through your body." He withdrew the finger, tapping his lip. "Now you see what is peculiar?"

"Tha fact that I'm not dead, and you don't seem concerned about being in the same room with me?"

"Yes, in a way." He faced him, rubbing his head through his wool hat. "As you can see, the microbes are gone."

Hyunjin scratched an itch on his shoulder with the wrench. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they are gone. Disappeared. Poor." He exploded his hands like fireworks.

"So... I don't have the plague?"

"That's correct, Mr. Gyeon. You do not have the plague."

"And I'm not going to die."

"Correct."

"And in not contagious?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Lovely feeling, isn't it?"

He leaned against the wall. Relief filled him, but it was followed by suspicion. They had given him the plague, but now he was healed? Without any antidote?

It felt like a trap, but the orange light was nowhere to be seen. He was telling him the truth, no matter how unbelievable it seemed. "Has this happened before?"

An impish grin spread across the doctor's weathered face. "You are the first. I have some theories about how it could be possible, but I'll need to run tests, of course."

He abandoned the holograph and went to the counter, lying out the two vials. "These are your blood samples, one taken before the injection, one after. I am very excited to see what secrets they contain."

He slid his eyes to the door, then back to the doctor. "Are you saying you think I'm immune?"

"Yes! That is precisely what it seems. Very interesting. Very special." He gripped his hands together. "It is possible that you were born with it. Something in your DNA that predisposed your immune system to fight off this particular disease. Or perhaps you were introduced to letumosis in a very small amount of time in your past, perhaps in your childhood, and your body was able to fight it off, therefore building an immunity to it which you utilized today."

Hyunjin shrank back, uncomfortable under his eager stare.

"Do you recall anything from your childhood that could be connected to this?" he continued. "Any horrible sickness? Near brush with death?"

"No. Well..." He hesitated, stuffing the wrench into a side cargo pocket. "I guess, maybe. My stepfather died of Letumosis. Five years ago."

"Your stepfather? Do you know where he could have contracted it?"